Anker’s new Prime charger has earned a permanent place in my travel bag
Desktop docks and charging stations complete the line-up
Going on holiday with a suitcase full of gadgets used to mean having to pack an equally bulky bunch of power bricks. Even after USB-C took over, charging all your tech at once could still be a headache. Anker’s three-port 100W wall charger is the lightweight all-in-one adapter I’ve been waiting for – and the rest of the 2024 Prime line-up has streamlined my home office charging too.
The updated three-port 100W wall charger uses Gallium nitride (GaN) charging chemistry to keep its dimensions in check, meaning it’s much lighter and takes up far less room in my travel bag than my laptop’s 90W power brick. It’s smaller than Anker’s outgoing 2023 model, too. Foldable prongs are the other highlight; the 3-pin British and 2-pin EU versions might be a tad bulkier than the US edition, but all three are satisfyingly svelte given they’ve got three power outputs. After swapping out my usual laptop charger and smartphone adapter for one of these, I’ve actually been able to charge more gadgets at once.
Use one of the twin USB-C ports and you’ll get the full 100W, which is plenty for charging any modern laptop without gaming-grade graphics. Plug in another USB-C gadget and that wattage is shared; add a third using the single USB-A and it’s a 65W/24W split, with the two USB-Cs getting the lion’s share.
GaN chargers aren’t cheap, so expect to pay around $85/£70 directly from Anker, but even after just a few work trips I can’t ever see myself leaving home without it.
The rest of the refreshed Prime line-up is more suited to desktop duties, with the 14-in-1 Prime Charging Docking Station being Anker’s new hero model. This vertical dock is absolutely overflowing with connections, including a 100W upstream USB 3.2 Gen 2 for data transfers to your PC.
Up front you get two USB 3.2 Gen 2 type-Cs, and two further USB-C ports good for 100W charging. There’s one USB 3.2 Gen 2 type-A, another Type-A for 12W charging, and a 3.5mm port for audio. A handy digital screen then shows charging speeds, data transfer times and temperature warnings, with a button on top for cycling through the various readouts.
At the rear it has three USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, and twin HDMI outputs: hook up one monitor and it can manage 4K at 60Hz, or with two screens it’ll do 4K/30Hz. That’s fine for an office setup, but meant I couldn’t use it with my 240Hz gaming monitor.
Still, it’s satisfyingly small, given the number of connections and the sizeable power output. Expect one to set you back $250/£200 directly from Anker.
I’ve also been using the six-port 200W desktop charger to juice up multiple smartphones, tablets and laptops at once. It majorly cuts down on cable mess and means I don’t have to dive under the desk every time I get a new product in for testing.
Here you’re getting four USB-C ports and two USB-As, with enough oomph here for charging two laptops at once. There’s no fancy screen or power division controls to worry about here, it’s just plug and go. The unit itself is nicely compact, but weighty enough (and with rubber feet) that stop it from sliding around your desk under the weight of multiple attached gadgets. There’s no bulky external power supply to make room for, either.
One of these will set you back $80/£80. It’s available to buy from Amazon or directly from Anker now.
Not got USB-C cables rated for such high wattages? No worries, Anker has you covered there as well. You can get 3ft and 6ft versions, made of braided upcycled materials good for 300,000 bends, and rated to support 240W of power.
The entire Anker Prime 2024 line-up is available to order now, with an early bird discount if you order before 4PM on launch day, through the Anker website.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
